OUR VIEW: Kudos to GCHS Choir

Published: Friday, November 23, 2012 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, November 21, 2012 at 6:45 p.m.

Friday, in the main auditorium of New York City’s famed Carnegie Hall, noted conductor and composer John Rutter’s “Mass of the Children” will be presented, along with the Christmas portion of Handel’s “Messiah.” The New England Symphonic Ensemble is the headline act for what has become a classic.

Down the playbill, there’s a listing that says “with participating choruses.”

One of those participating choruses is the Gadsden City High School Choir. We think that’s a pretty big deal.

Various high school bands and other performing groups have carried the area’s musical banner far and wide through the years. The Etowah Youth Orchestras have made two appearances at Carnegie, and we know the standard set by EYO was high. We have no doubt the GCHS students will represent this area in fine fashion as well.

Dennis Loy, conductor-in-residence for Mid-America Productions, announced in April that the group had been chosen to participate in tonight’s event. He cited the “quality of musicianship demonstrated by the performers” as a reason it was chosen. That’s pretty high praise.

GCHS students backed up that faith recently as more than a dozen were invited to be members of the All-State Choirs during March’s All-State Festival.

The trip to New York wasn’t a gift. Members of the choir each had to raise well more than $1,000 to make the trip, and they worked hard in doing so. So did the parents.

The performance no doubt will be the crowning moment of what is sure to be a lifelong memory for the students. Who knows? Someday one or more of them just might return to Carnegie as the headline act.

As the old chestnut goes, all it takes is practice, practice, practice.

Shopping local

Yeah, yeah, we know. Some of you have enough of the Black Friday experience already that you don’t even want to think about shopping for a long time.

However, even the most ardent Black Friday shoppers aren’t likely to have bought all their items on their Christmas shopping lists.

So, if you avoided today’s rush or if you just like to wait a bit, we encourage you to shop local this holiday season.

We know that sometimes it’s necessary to travel to find a particular item, but our local merchants offer unique gifts and oftentimes personal service that you can’t get elsewhere.

The people who own and work in area stores are your friends and neighbors. Wouldn’t you rather do business with them than someone out of town?

<p>Friday, in the main auditorium of New York City's famed Carnegie Hall, noted conductor and composer John Rutter's “Mass of the Children” will be presented, along with the Christmas portion of Handel's “Messiah.” The New England Symphonic Ensemble is the headline act for what has become a classic. </p><p>Down the playbill, there's a listing that says “with participating choruses.”</p><p>One of those participating choruses is the Gadsden City High School Choir. We think that's a pretty big deal.</p><p>Various high school bands and other performing groups have carried the area's musical banner far and wide through the years. The Etowah Youth Orchestras have made two appearances at Carnegie, and we know the standard set by EYO was high. We have no doubt the GCHS students will represent this area in fine fashion as well.</p><p>Dennis Loy, conductor-in-residence for Mid-America Productions, announced in April that the group had been chosen to participate in tonight's event. He cited the “quality of musicianship demonstrated by the performers” as a reason it was chosen. That's pretty high praise.</p><p>GCHS students backed up that faith recently as more than a dozen were invited to be members of the All-State Choirs during March's All-State Festival.</p><p>The trip to New York wasn't a gift. Members of the choir each had to raise well more than $1,000 to make the trip, and they worked hard in doing so. So did the parents.</p><p>The performance no doubt will be the crowning moment of what is sure to be a lifelong memory for the students. Who knows? Someday one or more of them just might return to Carnegie as the headline act. </p><p>As the old chestnut goes, all it takes is practice, practice, practice.</p><h3>Shopping local</h3>
<p>Yeah, yeah, we know. Some of you have enough of the Black Friday experience already that you don't even want to think about shopping for a long time.</p><p>However, even the most ardent Black Friday shoppers aren't likely to have bought all their items on their Christmas shopping lists. </p><p>So, if you avoided today's rush or if you just like to wait a bit, we encourage you to shop local this holiday season.</p><p>We know that sometimes it's necessary to travel to find a particular item, but our local merchants offer unique gifts and oftentimes personal service that you can't get elsewhere. </p><p>The people who own and work in area stores are your friends and neighbors. Wouldn't you rather do business with them than someone out of town?</p>